Putin is really in a hurry this time!
The successive defeats of the Russian army on the front line, the increasing anti-war pressure from the international community, the political opposition voices that have begun to surface in China, and even a good friend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave a candid instruction in person: "This is not the era of war, food , chemical fertilizer and fuel safety is the persuasion, so Putin began to realize that if the front-line war continued like this, there might really be a problem.
Therefore, shortly after Samarkand expressed his "hope to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible" and returned to Moscow, on September 21, Putin delivered his first national speech since the war against Ukraine on February 24. Partial mobilization - This is the first time Russia has mobilized for war since World War II.
Putin said in his speech that "those citizens currently in the reserve, first of all those who have served in the armed forces and have a certain military professional and related experience will be called up for military service", "those who are called up for military service are being called up for military service." Additional military training is required before deployment to the troops."
According to Putin's speech, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu immediately said that 300,000 reservists will be recruited for the war in Ukraine to alleviate the problem of Russian troops and "defend Russian territory and interests."
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Shoigu (right) attend the event in Moscow.
(AP)
At the same time, it is worth noting that on September 20, local time, in four regions of Ukraine, including Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye, local administrations also proposed to join the Russian Federation. A referendum was held, and Russia supported it.
Because these four places are all under Russian military occupation, and many of the people who remain are probably willing to accept Russian governance, all parties have clear expectations for the referendum result.
After the referendum is completed and accepted by the Russian parliament, according to the laws of the Russian Federation, the four regions of the Donbass will be incorporated into Russia and become Russian territory.
In this case, if Ukraine attacks the Donbass again, in Ukraine, it will recover the occupied territory, but in Russia, it can bite back and call Ukraine's military actions "aggression", thus "de-military" After the fact that the reason for the deployment of military forces to de-Nazification and de-Nazification failed, he sought "legality" for Russia's military occupation of the Donbas region, and interpreted the original war of aggression against Ukraine as a "war of self-defense".
In fact, this is exactly what Russia planned. The vice chairman of the Russian Federation Security Council and former president Dmitry Medvedev said that the referendum on joining Russia will make the redrawn border "irreversible" and that Moscow can use "any means" to defend it. they.
"The referendum is of great importance for both the systematic protection of the population and the restoration of historical justice. If Russian territory is directly attacked, Russia will be able to use all its forces to defend itself," he said.
Putin also said that "Russia will use all available means when its territorial integrity is threatened."
The Kremlin plans to concentrate its remaining forces to seize the entire Donbas region.
(Associated Press)
To sum up: In order to reverse the passive situation, Putin is planning to pass a referendum to change the sovereignty of the Donbass, completely annex this territory originally belonging to Ukraine, and bite back politically. At the same time, through war mobilization, military resources are expanded and consolidated The military occupation of this territory deterred Ukrainian attacks on these areas.
Forcibly turning a country's territory into its own territory through military occupation, agitation for independence, and then referendums is unreasonable in today's international law and morality.
Russia's move also embarrassed those neutral countries that originally wanted to keep a distance from the conflict and refused to define war as "aggression", prompting these countries to further distance themselves from Russia.
For example, after the Donbas' independence referendum and Putin's mobilization for war, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said: "China has always maintained that the sovereign and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be observed, and all countries should be reasonable. Security concerns should be taken seriously, and all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the crisis should be supported.” He also said: “China’s position on the Ukraine crisis has always been clear. Find a way to accommodate the legitimate security concerns of all parties as soon as possible, and we hope that the international community will create conditions and space for this.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin answered reporters' questions on the Donbas referendum and Russia's war mobilization.
(CCTV)
Compared with the previous emphasis on "the historical latitude and right and wrong of the Ukraine issue" when the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out, there is a subtle difference in China's position on the donation of the Donbass to Russia. It seems to emphasize that "the sovereign and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected. The purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations should be observed."
However, international politics not only has morality and law, but also has very realistic interest demands. At the same time, it is based on absolute strength to shape the geopolitical pattern. And the conflict between the West, China is probably powerless.
This is probably the most primitive nature of international politics. Human society has not evolved to an ideal state, and may never evolve to that ideal state.
Why did Putin choose war mobilization over some form of retreat?
Putin's first war mobilized 300,000 troops to prepare for the Winter Armageddon. The pro-Russian regions of Ukrainian and Eastern Ukraine held a referendum on joining Russia. Many Western countries indicated that they would not recognize the result. Roger plans to follow up
